Chickamauga And Ringgold Sites Listed On Georgia Trust's Places In Peril

  • Wednesday, November 16, 2022

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation released on Wednesday its 2023 list of 10 Places in Peril in the state.

Sites on the list include: 229 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta (Fulton County); Beulah Grove Lodge and School in Douglasville (Douglas County); Chickamauga Masonic Lodge No. 221 (Walker County); Dasher High School in Valdosta (Lowndes County); Dudley Motel, Cafe and Service Station in Dublin (Laurens County); Lee’s Mill Ruins on the Flint River in Forest Park (Clayton County); McConnell-Chadwick House in Milton (Fulton County); Old Campbell County Courthouse in Fairburn (Fulton County); Wilkes County Training School in Washington (Wilkes County); and the Yates House in Ringgold (Catoosa County).

Chickamauga Masonic Lodge No. 221 (Chickamauga, Walker County)
Chickamauga Lodge No. 221, Prince Hall Affiliate of the Free and Accepted Masons, was organized in 1916 by former enslaved and first-generation freed African Americans. The current building was completed in 1924. Immediate needs include a new roof and structural evaluation. The interior and exterior of the building need repair. Now cared for by local Masons from other regional lodges, the building remains an important space for the African American community in Chickamauga.

Yates House (Ringgold, Catoosa County)
Originally constructed for Presley and Rachel Thedford Yates, this house is one of the few remaining antebellum homes in Catoosa County. Presley Yates received the land in the Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832, and the house was completed in the late 1830s, with later additions made in the early 1900s. Presley Yates served as a delegate to the Georgia Secession Convention in 1861 and voted against secession despite being an enslaver.

“This is the Trust’s eighteenth annual Places in Peril list,” said Mark C. McDonald, president and CEO of the Trust. “We hope the list will continue to bring preservation solutions to Georgia’s imperiled historic resources by highlighting ten representative sites.”

Places in Peril is designed to raise awareness about Georgia’s significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources, including buildings, structures, districts, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes that are threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.

Through Places in Peril, the Trust will encourage owners and individuals, organizations and communities to employ proven preservation tools, financial resources and partnerships in order to reuse, reinvest and revitalize historic properties that are in peril.

Over the past year, several sites from previous years’ lists have made progress: the Chattahoochee Brick Co. site in Atlanta was recently purchased by the city, with plans to create a city park and memorial; Cherry Grove Schoolhouse in Washington was fully rehabilitated thanks in part to a Callahan Incentive Grant from the Georgia Trust and tireless efforts from the community and volunteers; the former homes of George Alexander Towns and Grace Towns Hamilton, located within the Atlanta University Center Historic District, received a $1 million restoration grant from the National Park Service; the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home in Camilla received a $500,000 National Park Service grant through the African American Civil Rights program for rehabilitation; the Kiah House Museum in Savannah was purchased by the Historic Savannah Foundation; and Darien's 1813 Adam-Strain Building, a rare example of historic tabby construction that was slated for demolition, is currently undergoing restoration by its new owner.

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